Norway's minister for the environment Helen Bjørnøy has said that her government is willing to prioritise environmental
issues and to support communities in their efforts to adapt to the consequences of climate change.
The minister was speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by Norwegian Church Aid and Climate
Network Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday.
"Africa has done very little to cause climate change, and it is therefore the responsibility of developed countries to assist communities
affected by climate change in adapting," said minister Bjørnøy.
Climate change has become one of the most critical issues in the world today, with its effects being felt all over
the world, but especially in Africa and in pacific island communities. If not dealt with urgently, climate change is destined to reverse all the efforts that have been made to combat poverty in
developing countries.
Some of the major effects of climate change are drought, flooding, short, unpredictable and errant rainfall, rising temperatures, and rising sea levels.
Speaking during the meeting, Kenya's environment minister Prof. Kivutha Kibwana said that climate change has become an issue that should bring the world together to restructure the way things are
done.
"This is everybody's problem – it doesn't matter where you are in the world. We need a common and urgent solution. We must begin to move from the realisation that there is a
problem, to action, where we begin to find something to do about it," said Prof. Kibwana.
The Norwegian minister's programme is to include a visit to Machakos in eastern Kenya to see some
of the ways in which communities are coping with the effects of climate change. Accompanying her are the Norwegian ambassador to Kenya, Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen, Prof. Jesse Mugambi from the World
Council of Churches, NCA's Kirsten Engebak and Grace Akumu from Climate Network Africa.
For more information contact:
Kirsten Engebak, NCA's area representative
for Kenya, Uganda and Somalia, Tel: +254 724 259849
